Figs for Newton

In an article headlined ALL THAT NEWS & NO DOLLS, Variety Columnist George Rosen this week looked back at television over the past season and coined a word for what had happened to it: "minowism." Under the influence of minowism, TV has become singularly zealous in public affairs, documentary and news programs. "Yet," says Rosen, "the question is frequently being asked these days: how much is enough? If, as is generally concluded, television is essentially an entertainment medium designed to give the viewer a respite and a measure of relaxation after a day's travails, at what point do the 'public interest' scales tip in creating an imbalance and deglamorizing of what is basically glamorous?

"As TV's enterprising news-public affairs entrepreneurs roam the globe to update the current events story (and pretty soon every nook and corner will have been explored, extending into outer space), the man in work clothes and business suit who has just returned home from a day with other men in work clothes and business suits finds himself watching and listening to still other men in work clothes and business suits. Which is O.K., up to a point, since TV or any other medium bereft of enlightenment will justifiably fade into oblivion . . . But how long is it since TV has unearthed a new and glamorous femme star to slake the thirst of the aforementioned viewer in quest of relaxation? . . . Occasionally the sought-after glamor in the form of white tie, tails, ballroom scenes and pretty dolls will show up on a Garry Moore show or a Perry Como episode, but, by and large, whether it's new public affairs or the run-of-the-mill Hollywood vidfilm product that's hellbent for realism, TV today, for the man in work clothes and business suit, is simply an extension of what he sees, hears and participates in all day long."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.